2015 Year in Review

December 31, 2015
|In MileValue
|By Scott Grimmer

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2015 was a great year of travel for me, and hopefully for you too.

The year started in a hot tub in Chilean Patagonia, admiring a lake and snow-capped mountain in the twilight. (That far south, it isn’t pitch black at midnight.)

The year will end, for me, in about an hour sitting in Business Class in a Thai Dreamliner on the ground in Nagoya, Japan.

COUNTRIES VISITED (19)

Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 8.42.39 PM

In chronological order:

  • Chile (3 days)
  • Argentina (5 months)
  • United States (7 weeks)
  • Panama (6 hours)
  • Cuba (6 days)
  • Colombia (2 weeks)
  • Spain (1 month)
  • Finland (1 week)
  • Estonia (1 week)
  • Latvia (1 week)
  • Lithuania (1 week)
  • Serbia (1 month)
  • Romania (3 weeks)
  • Greece (1 day)
  • Croatia (2 days)
  • Switzerland (3 days)
  • United Arab Emirates (2 days)
  • Peru (1 day)
  • Japan (5 days)

Twelve of these countries were new. My total is now 67 (counting England, Wales, Macau, Hong Kong, and China separately):

Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 9.29.20 PM

PREMIUM AIRLINE CABINS FLOWN (6)

In chronological order (with links to trip reports):

My favorite flights were definitely the two in Emirates First Class on the A380, which I wish had been twice as long. All the other flights, I enjoyed getting some rest, but I was ready to get off at the end.

MILES FLOWN (73,348)

  • 73,348 miles flown over 39 segments
  • If I had flown all these as paid flights on one airline like United or Delta, I wouldn’t even have the highest mid-tier status!
  • Longest flight: Dubai to Houston in Emirates First Class on an A380 (8,168 miles)
  • Shortest flight: Honolulu to Kahului, Maui (100 miles)
  • Favorite flight: Dubai to Houston in Emirates First Class on an A380. 15 hours wasn’t long enough
  • Least favorite flight: Buenos Aires to Atlanta in Delta economy wins because it was my longest economy flight, but I even got some sleep on that one
Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 8.34.41 PM
Lines Represent Itineraries Not Segments

FAVORITE MOMENTS OF TRAVEL

  • Winning the Tokyo Metro Underground Mysteries Game
  • Golfing on Christmas Day in 80 degree weather
  • Exploring otherworldly landscapes like the Cerro de Siete Colores near Salta and Jujuy, Argentina
    Screen Shot 2015-12-31 at 10.35.38 PM
  • Attending an Argentina/Brazil World Cup Qualifying Game with my dad
  • Shooting a crossbow at Trakai Castle in Lithuania
  • Going to the mid-Summer bonfire on an island near Helsinki
  • Hiking 36 km in one day in Madrid
  • Spelunking in Cuba
  • Watching sunset on Ka’anapali Beach on Maui
  • Hiking on a glaciar near El Calafate, Argentina
  • Finishing a four day trek in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
  • Meeting new friends along the way
  • Visiting family

What were your travel stats for 2015? More importantly, what were your best travel memories from this year?

See also:

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